Estes Park Trail-Gazette News

Tankers still roll over Loveland Pass while Colorado mulls tunnel fix

Truckers with hazardous materials are routed over Loveland Pass instead of going through the tunnel on Interstate 79. (The Denver Post)

LOVELAND PASS — Oil and gas tankers roared through Colorado's high-mountain tundra at a rate of one every five minutes Monday morning, two days after a crash that spilled 4,000 gallons of diesel and unleaded fuel into waterways that flow toward Denver's Dillon Reservoir.

Denver Water crews inspected backup booms downstream intended to minimize contamination of the North Fork of the Snake River. Heavy fumes hung in the air near where the truck missed a tight switchback on U.S. 6 north of Arapahoe Basin ski area.

Tanker trucks crashing and rupturing on Loveland Pass is a recurring problem — an average of three times a year — because of a long-standing practice of diverting all heavy trucks hauling hazardous materials on Interstate 70 around Eisenhower-Johnson Tunnel and routing them over a twisting, two-lane pass that crosses the Continental Divide at an elevation of 11,990 feet.

Spills of hazardous substances on U.S. 6 over Loveland Pass are alarmingly common. The most recent one, Saturday morning, spilled 5,000 gallons of gasoline on fragile alpine forest. (The Denver Post)

Smooth traffic flow and safety along I-70 for the 30,000 vehicles a day that pass through the tunnel have taken priority. A tanker catastrophe inside the tunnel, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation, could cripple the economy.

But expansion of the oil and gas industry, mountain airports' thirst for aviation fuel and growth in western Colorado have led to 200 hazmat trucks a day navigating precipitous Loveland Pass switchbacks.

There's a chance CDOT may do more to protect the tundra and Denver's watershed by keeping hazmat haulers on I-70.

Colorado's Division of Oil and Public Safety recently contributed $5 million to spur a $25 million project to install a fire-suppression system in the tunnel that would spray water or foam to control flames. This would make it easier to deal with crashes.

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CDOT has applied for another $10 million in federal funds.

If it were done, CDOT legislative liaison Kurt Morrison confirmed Monday, state officials likely would re-think use of the tunnel.

"The fire-suppression system is something that would change the fundamental nature of the tunnel," Morrison said.

"We would have to re-look at the rules and re-look at the science and data around it," he said. "We would have to go through a rule-making process to evaluate that option."

Routing hazmat trucks through a sprinkler-equipped tunnel instead of across fragile tundra "would minimize the potential for tanker rollovers and releases (on the pass), which is a catastrophe," oil and public safety director Mahesh Albuquerque said in a recent interview.

Truckers grumble about the 15-mile pass, which closes about 20 times a winter because of accidents and snow.

Oil and gas haulers pay about $100 for every 8,000-gallon load carried on Colorado roads. The money goes into a petroleum cleanup fund that has helped deal with hundreds of leaking underground storage tanks.

The mountain terrain along Loveland Pass is part of the Arapahoe Roosevelt National Forest.

U.S. Forest Service regional forester Dan Jiron said spills can cause long-term damage in the tundra. "It takes a long time to heal when we have to do remediation. The best thing to do, at these very high elevations, is to leave it alone. We have to make sure it is protected."

However, dealing with hazmat on highways "is an issue more for the state than for us," Jiron said. Public safety must be a priority, "and people want these kinds of products. How do we deliver them?"

Denver Water has weighed in because any tanker crashing along Loveland Pass threatens the quality of water in Dillon Reservoir. Utility officials have asked to be notified immediately any time accidents happen so they can work with Summit County and State Patrol first responders to track spills.

Denver Water crews immediately collect samples throughout the watershed and in the reservoir. They try to assess how quickly spills will travel down the river and into the reservoir.

The latest spill happened Saturday around 8:15 p.m. when a Solar Transportation tanker, hauling diesel and unleaded fuel to Summit County, rolled and ruptured against a concrete barrier put in place after a previous crash that spilled diesel. Diesel and gas gushed several inches deep down the highway into adjacent waterways, forcing closure of the pass and overwhelming the driver with fumes.

The driver, Michael Johnson, was cited for careless driving.

On Monday, black pools had formed on either side of white absorbent barriers that fire crews placed at the site.

Denver Water crews have concluded that "our water supply wasn't affected by this spill," spokesman Travis Thompson said. Diesel and gas did not reach the North Fork of the Snake River. Lab test results are expected next week.

"While we have processes in place to ensure any type of contamination that may occur is secured, we support any project that alleviates possibilities of spills or contaminants from entering our watersheds," Thompson said.

Tanker drivers often drive too fast because delivering loads swiftly is how they make money, CDOT workers said at the scene.

Morrison said the state must "rely a lot on the commercial drivers being professional."